During the years of the
Holocaust, spanning from December 8th, 1941 to January 7th, 1945, it is
estimated that over 11 million people were murdered in Nazi
concentration camps (Rice, 6). That is an average of about 7,383 people
killed per day. Today, those 11 million people are mostly nameless and
faceless, blending into the grotesque conglomerate of Holocaust
statistics. Most were Jews, roughly 6 million. Others murdered included
Gypsies, Slavs, Communists, homosexuals, mentally ill, mentally
handicapped, physically handicapped, and clergy, among others.

According to Daniel Jonah Goldhagen,
author of Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the
Holocaust, the Nazis considered various cultures on a scale, with
the Aryan, or "Master’ ‘race at the top, and the Jewish people
on the bottom (469471). The Jews were considered the root cause of evil;
Jewish evil was innate and incurable (470). They were not even
considered human (470). Therefore, it was acceptable and necessary to
the majority of Germans to eliminate the Jewish population (471).

Other groups, such as the Slavs, were
considered beasts of burden, and best used for slave labor (Goldhagen,
470-471). The mentally ill were euthanized (471). Although many other
groups suffered and died in the Holocaust, Nazi policy towards the Jews
was the most well–defined, and it was the policy the people most
eagerly carried out (471).

The most natural question to ask about
the Holocaust is "why?". Until recently, there were three
general schools of thought: intentionalists, functionalists, and
eclectics (Rice, 13). The intentionalists believe the Holocaust to be a
direct result of Hitler, and that he intended from the start to
annihilate the Jewish people (13). Functionalists tend to take a more
socio–economic focus, believing a Nazi bureaucracy run amok caused the
implementation of the Final Solution rather than "a long–held
intent on the part of Hitler and the Nazis (13)." Finally, the
eclectics theorize that the Nazis only planned to murder the Jews when
all other policies (boycotts, exclusion, ghettos, etc.) failed to result
in the intended goal (13-14).

According to Goldhagen, who recently
founded his own school of thought, the reason is axioms. An axiom is a
belief so deeply ingrained in a society that it does not merit much
expression in the media. For example, in the United States, there are
not many writings on the greatness of democracy. Most Americans hold
that belief so strongly that it does not require much expression through
the media (Goldhagen, 27–32).

So it was with Germans and anti–Semitism.
The Jews as scapegoats was a belief held by so many Germans for such a
long span of time that it did not merit much articulation before the
Holocaust. Hitler did not invent anti–Semitism in Germany, nor the
concept of German superiority, nor even give the Germans violent
inclinations toward the Jews. All three were already in existence. He
simply articulated cultural axioms (Goldhagen, 27-48).

When stated so simply, the answer as to
how one can prevent another Holocaust is simple. Examine axioms. In a
country as diverse as the United States, cultural conflicts and
stereotypes are inevitable. Conflicts cause stereotypes, and stereotypes
have an excellent chance of becoming axioms. Already, many such
stereotypes have taken root in the United States. Arabs are terrorists.
Blacks are gangsters. Whites are greedy. Latinos are lazy. Asians are
ruthless. Native Americans are drunks. The list goes on and on. When a
cognitive problem has been identified and examined, like a medical
condition, all that is left is to prescribe a cure. The cure, however,
is not easy. Learn about other cultures, religions, political parties et
cetera, with an open mind. Do not read, view, or listen to second–hand
material on any group intended to undermine that group, not at first,
anyway. It is propaganda, and propaganda was one of the main vehicles of
the Nazi persecution of peoples. Rather, begin at the source, the group
in question, and form opinions from examination of the first–hand
material. Only later examine propaganda, to understand how the
propagandists’ views were developed, which allows one to better combat
such prejudices with a well–reasoned argument.

Only by studying the lessons of the
Holocaust can we, the American people, members of the larger, global
community prevent the Holocaust from happening on our own soil. Only by
passing those lessons on to members of the larger, worldwide community
can we prevent the Holocaust from happening anywhere again. We must
never forget what happened: the slaughter of 1 I million people. We must
never forget what almost happened: the annihilation of the Jewish
people. In the words of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, and the
author of Night,

Never shall I forget that
night, the first night in camp which has turned my life into
one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.
Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the
little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into
wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I
forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never
shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for
all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget
those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned
my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even
if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never
(32).

Because of brave men and women like
Elie Wiesel, members of this generation will not forget the atrocities
inflicted on innocents. However, when the last survivors pass away, and
the Holocaust is in danger of fading into history, it will be up to our
generation to remember the words of the survivors, and to ensure that
the memories of the Holocaust are always there to remind the world of
what evil fruits prejudice can bear. In short, it is up to us, through
research and reason, to make certain the lessons of the Holocaust are
never forgotten cases, it is necessary to teach those who will not
listen, you must open their ears, and their heart. We must never forget.